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Inheritance Cycle
The Inheritance trilogy is a series of three high fantasy books, written by homeschooled author Christopher Paolini. Inheritance is set in the fictional land of Alagäesia, which resembles Viking-era Scandinavia in both its language, customs, and religions. The framework of the trilogy is filled with references to ancient mythology, especially the legends of the old Norse peoples. The books - Eragon, Eldest, and an untitled, yet-to-be-released Book III - are published by the Alfred A. Knopf Publishing House. Eragon and Eldest both became New York Times bestsellers. Fox 2000, a division of 20th Century Fox, has purchased film rights to the trilogy. The [[Eragon (movie)|film version of Eragon]] is set to be released on December 15, 2006. It will be directed by Stefen Fangmeier. Background Christopher Paolini began writing Eragon after graduating from high school at the age of fifteen. Originally intended to be a screenplay, the work instead evolved into a full-fledged novel of nearly five hundred pages. It was originally published by his parents' publishing company, Paolini International LLC, in 2002. Paolini travelled to schools, libraries, and bookstores to promote Eragon - in one case, arm-wrestling a potential buyer to get him to read it - but the novel's popularity did not take off until it was discovered by author Carl Hiaasen, who recommended it to Knopf. Paolini signed a three-book deal with Knopf, and Eldest, the second book in the trilogy, appeared in 2005. Besides the conventional formats, with cover art by John Jude Palencar, Eragon and Eldest have also been released in audiobook and ebook formats. Book III is scheduled for release sometime in 2007. Books ''Eragon The first edition of ''Eragon was self-published by Christopher Paolini's family, and was released in 2002. The second edition, published by Knopf, appeared in 2003. The paperback edition was released in 2005. ''Eldest ''Eldest was released as a hardcover edition in August 2005. It is due to be released in paperback in September 2006. ''Book III The third volume is, as yet, untitled, though it is rumoured by many fans to be named ''Empire, in keeping with the titles of the other books in the trilogy: both have six letters and begin with the letter 'e'. It is due for hardcover release in the summer of 2007. Premise , featuring the main characters]] Eragon, a 15-year-old farmboy, finds a dragon egg while out hunting. When the dragon hatches for him, he takes on the responsibilities of the Dragon Riders and sets out on a quest to avenge his uncle's death and, eventually, to bring defeat to the evil tyrant who rules Alagaësia. Critical reaction While many praise Inheritance as a fresh addition to the fantasy genre, and "an authentic work of great talent", many others criticize it for its formulaic plot, stereotyped characters, and similarities to other well-known works of fantasy and science fiction. Some of the main criticisms are: *The Ancient Language closely resembles that of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books *The archaic language ("He knew not", "they were but a few", use of the word "aye") is needless and awkward *Brom is too similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars, or Gandalf of Lord of the Rings *The plot twists - in particular the revelation at the end of Eldest - are stale and easily foreseen. *The writing style tells rather than shows http://www.worldmag.com/articles/11024 *Lack of originality Regardless of the naysayers, Inheritance has become an astounding commercial success; Christopher Paolini was a New York Times bestselling author by the age of twenty-one. See also *Christopher Paolini *''Eragon'' *''Eldest'' *''Book 3'' *''Eragon'' movie *''Eragon'' video game *''Eragon'' board game References * Eragon, 2nd edition, 2003. Christopher Paolini. * Eldest, 1st edition, 2005. Christopher Paolini. * Shurtugal.com - Christopher Paolini Notes External links *Alagaesia.com, the official site *Inheritance Trilogy on Wikipedia *Shurtugal.com, the largest Inheritance Trilogy website *Anti-Shur'tugal, a critique site Category: Inheritance books Category:Inheritance trilogy es:Trilogía El Legado